A national beauty pageant established to raise morale in the aftermath of World War 2 has just crowned its 79th winner in a glittering sold-out ceremony at Leicester’s Athena.
Despite having not been televised since the 1980’s, The Miss Great Britain competition, which began in Morecambe the Summer of 1945 as the ‘Bathing Beauty Queen’ contest, has seen a huge surge in applicants in 2024, attracting thousands of hopefuls which were whittled down to 68 women across three divisions.
Across the two days, the finalists showcased their charity, talent and publicity efforts and took part in private interviews with an esteemed judging panel, before taking to the iconic Miss GB stage.
Miss GB Edinburgh Ava Morgan (19), an International Business Student at Edinburgh University eventually reigned supreme over 40 other accomplished Miss Great Britain finalists to become the 79th Miss Great Britain winner.
Ava’s triumphant win comes after raising £21,000 for charity in the lead up to the national final. Across the course of the two day national final Ava was also judged the Best in Interview award winner by six expert judges, and won the Publicityaward after mounting a powerful self-devised campaign called ‘BeBoobAware’ which aims to raise greater understanding and awareness for Breast Cancer.
Commenting on her win, newly crowned Miss Great Britain 2024/25 Ava Morgan said:
‘Winning Miss Great Britain is a dream come true. It symbolises everything I’ve worked for – the personal growth, the confidence I’ve built and the opportunity to turn my platform, BeBoob Aware, into something even bigger.
This title means I can reach more people, raise greater awareness for Breast Cancer and show others that no matter where you start, you can achieve incredible things.
It’s a reminder that stepping out of my comfort zone was the best thing I could have done, and now I’m excited to use this win to inspire and empower others to do the same.’
Ava will now walk away with an impressive prize package which includes a stunning Miss Great Britain branded Nissan car for the duration of her reign, courtesy of sponsors Vehicle Consultancy and MF Martial Arts and Dance.
In recent years, the Miss Great Britain organisation has also introduced a Ms Great Britain contest (for women aged 31-44) and Ms Great Britain Classic, which is open for women aged 45 and over withno upper age-limit which means that women of any age can compete.
Grandmother to three Debbie Hughes, 55 of Stoke-on-Trent was the overall winner of the Ms GB classic crown, having made a triumphant return to the stage after a hospital stay prevented her from competing in 2023.
Debbie, who campaigns nationally to end the stigma around menopause, was crowned Ms Great Britain Classic on her third attempt. She has founded her own platform, Talking Taboo, where women can seek support for their symptoms, and said of her plans with her new title:
‘My mission as Ms Great Britain Classic, after going through the menopause for 4 years, is to eradicate the stigmas surrounding menopause and to encourage women to seek the right advice from a medical professional who understands those symptoms, and who can offer the best individual advice.’
The winner of Ms Great Britain 2024 was Emma Powell (31) from Cardiff, became the first Welsh-born winner to assume the title of Ms Great Britain.
Academic Emma, who holds a degree in International Business, a Graduate Diploma in Law and a Masters in HR, campaigns to raise awareness and educate others about speech and language processing disorders, after her son Leo was diagnosed in 2023.
She said:
‘I am absolutely elated to have won – it means the world to me. I will continue to advocate for my son’s condition but I also want to inspire others to speak up for people and causes just like my son,
The competition celebrated a huge milestone on Friday night after it was revealed that in 2024, the finalists have raised £102,000 for its two charities, Leicester Alex’s Wish: Curing Duchenne, and Cancer Research.
In a moving VT shown at the live final, Cancer Research UK’s Andrea Day became emotional as she announced that over CRUK’s 9 year partnership with Miss Great Britain, the finalists have raised over£225,000 for the charity.
It is also estimated that in total, between the two charities, the finalists have raised over £340,000 in the last decade alone.
The competition also celebrated the diversity of Great British culture, after record numbers of non-UK born women took to the stage across all divisions. Among them, ladies from as far away as Columbia, Spain and Estonia – who now call Britain their home, were welcomed to rapturous applause from audience members, many who had also flown from far and wide to support.
Amongst them was Leyla Tabas, 49, a white collar boxer originally from Azerbaijan who finished as 1st runner up to Debbie Hughes in Ms Great Britain Classic. Ethel Lagura, 51, a nurse from The Philippines also reigned supreme in the Ms Great Britain Classic Public voting round.
